Breaking Barriers
by crypticnotions
Summary: Dell didn't set out to fall in love with Naomi, but now that he has, what will he do about it?


Disclaimer: I don't own Private Practice, though I really wish I did.

Title: Breaking Barriers

Author: crypticnotions

Rating: Nothing over the equivalent of pg-13

Pairing: Dell/Naomi

Spoilers: Bits of stuff through In Which Dell Finds His Fight

Summary: Dell didn't set out to fall in love with Naomi, but now that he has, what will he do about it?

A/N: An original one-shot in my head, I've come up with an idea for a second chapter so this will probably be expanded and will include various couples if I do add more.

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Dell lost his virginity to Melanie Woolfrit, his babysitter, at the age of 13. She was a first year college student trying to make a few extra bucks towards tuition when she strutted her way into his life. Before she coaxed him into sex on his little brother's twin sized bed, he liked her because her golden pale hair and quirky smile reminded him of his globetrotting mother. That was the last time he liked any woman as a mother figure, though he knows everyone at the practice thinks otherwise.

Dell didn't set out to fall in love with Naomi. In fact, he tried to avoid it, knowing it was bad business to want to date your boss, especially when she was in the process of shedding the skin of marriage. When attempts to reach her best friend Addison, some brilliant doctor living it up in Seattle, failed, she turned to him. During late nights over steaming cups of coffee, they forged a bond. The more Dell listened to Naomi, the more he wanted to be with her. The divorce knocked the confidence from Naomi's limbs and Dell watched the vibrant woman fall into fear and self-doubt, despite the amazing things she did everyday like giving hope to women who had given up on their dream of having a baby. Two weeks before Addison waltzed into the practice, Dell constructed the "Miracle Baby Board".

Addison changed everything. He thought Naomi was ready for something to happen between them. He wouldn't have showed up in her office late at night to ask her out if he wasn't sure. It took a lot more courage than he wanted to admit just to jam his hands into his shorts, lean against her door and wait for her to look at him. He knew that drinks out with the gang, with Addison, was the excuse she used to address whatever it was that was flaring between them and there was something there. He had seen it in the way her eyes shifted back to him on her way out. If Oceanside Wellness had been Sodom and Gomorrah, Naomi would have been a sexy pillar of salt from the way her head snapped backward to get one last look at him that night months ago.

But Addison wasn't all bad. She was a great doctor, a good mentor, and an amusing woman. Dell understood why Naomi and Addison had struck up a friendship so long ago. They were yin and yang in thoughts and actions and now that Addison was here, Dell couldn't imagine the practice without her. Still late nights with Naomi had dried up since Naomi could call Addison up in a second's notice.

The kiss further complicated matters. Naomi avoided him like he'd contracted a contagious disease. Each time she stepped off the elevator, she'd keep her head focused on her PDA, her lean fingers dancing along the buttons of the black device. She would snatch her files up, throw him a quick glance and rush to her office where Violet and Addison would hole up and talk about whatever the latest developments were occurring in Oceanside Wellness Daytime drama. Sometimes, Sam would walk by the desk and throw him a smirk before gliding into Naomi's office. Dell assumed it was Sam's way of gloating, but Dell knew better.

Dell saw the look of confusion, then apathy that crossed Naomi's features at the bouquet of roses that appeared on her desk on Valentines Day three weeks ago. She pretended to preen over them when Addison and Violet showed up, but the real spark came from the bar of rare chocolate he'd hidden in the pen compartment of her desk. He was peeking through the slits of the blinds when her hand reached into the drawer and grasped the candy bar. It had cost him a fortune, but he knew it was the rare kind she'd treated herself to after Maya was first born and again when Sam signed the divorce papers. It was a little gem of information she let slip during one of their late night chats. There was never a verbal thank you for the candy, but a portion of the rich chocolate had found its way into his pen compartment.

Naomi didn't stay late nights anymore. Every since that pregnancy debacle with Ruby, Naomi made it a priority to spend more time with Maya. That and the fact that he closed up Oceanside Wellness might require that she interact with him kept her days short, but not tonight.

Tonight he could see her leaning over the Paulson file, her hand rubbing stress from the back of her neck. He appeared at her door, a cup of her favorite coffee in hand. Her head jerked up and her hand dropped to her lap.

"I just thought you might want something to keep you alert." He walked over to her desk and placed the hot container on the corner to avoid getting stains on the open file.

"Oh, thanks," she murmured, her eyes refocusing on the paper in front of her.

Dell watched her hand retrace its former path along the baseline of her shining curls. His hands twitched. The memory of the softness of her skin thrilled through him and he cleared his throat. She raised her head again.

"I could help you out with that," he gestured toward the hand pressing into her neck.

He saw the panic that flared in her eyes. "Uh, no, it's okay. I'm fine. Just a little tired." Her lips pulled into a smile. It was one of the placating smiles she tossed out when she wanted him out of her vicinity. He almost rolled his eyes at it, except he loved her smile. The brilliant way her gleaming teeth lit up her face always tugged at something in his insides. It took away the seriousness etched into her skin since the divorce.

"It'll only take a second," he reassured.

"No, no. It's okay." She shook her head before wincing.

He watched her watching him walk around her desk.

"Do you have any lotion?"

"Why?" she asked. Her hand was clenched in her lap and her eyes were darting between him and the door.

"Because this usually goes better with a little lubricant." Dell's face reddened at the way that sounded. "It's okay if you don't," he added.

His fingers eased onto her neck muscles and she jumped. "You have to be still." He molded his hands onto her warm flesh.

"It's okay you don't have to oh," she said, her eyes closing. "That's great."

His fingers rubbed circles into the worn muscles. "You should really go to a spa or something for this."

She sighed. "I don't have the time."

"Make the time," he insisted.

Silence settled over them like snow settling in on Christmas. Dell could feel her relaxing under his ministrations.

"Uh," she sighed again, this time out of the way his fingers were hitting a particularly tense spot.

He continued his massage, moving wider until he felt her start tensing again. The span of his fingers were grazing her face and jumping to her shoulders. He stopped. Naomi lifted her head and inclined her head, first to the right, and then to the left, testing out the way her neck felt.

"Wow. You sure you want to be a midwife?" she joked. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

Dell plopped down in the chair across from Naomi. He leaned forward and placed his elbows onto his knees. "My mom used to have me rub her neck after she came home from the factory."

Naomi grasped the cup perched on her desk and took a sip. "Where is your mom these days?" The old concern she used to display for him came through the question.

"India again. She sent me a post card of the Taj Mahal. I now have 7 postcards from India."

She nodded and her eyes drifted back towards the Paulson file bare before her. "I never did thank you for the uh, chocolate. It was a nice gesture, Dell." He felt the dismissive tone in her voice and stood up.

"I'm glad you liked it, but I'm not done."

She looked up. "What?"

"I'm not done fighting for you." He left her sitting there with her mouth gaping.

The statement might ensure he would never see her around the office again at night, but he wanted to be clear on where he stood. This game she was playing wasn't going to deter him. He grabbed his bag from behind his station and jammed the down button on the elevator. It was time he formulated an actual plan to win Naomi.


End file.
